


the year ends (the world begins)

by dancingbeetle



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Captain Swan - Freeform, F/M, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-04
Updated: 2014-01-04
Packaged: 2018-01-07 11:58:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1119565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancingbeetle/pseuds/dancingbeetle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One-shot: It’s New Year’s Eve in Storybrooke, and although things between Hook and Emma have been confusing lately, Hook decides the time for ‘backing off’ is over. Everything is settled when the clock strikes midnight…</p><p>(Slightly timeline-divergent, and shh, just pretend I posted this on January 1st like I meant to.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	the year ends (the world begins)

_New Year’s Eve_

 

“Look, will you just come tonight?” asked Emma in exasperation.

“I fail to comprehend the importance of this holiday, love,” said the pirate, fiddling with his hook. “It’s just another day, why stay up late counting down the seconds?”

“It’s _symbolic_ , Hook. You drink champagne, you sing songs, you celebrate the new year. New beginnings, fresh starts, all that. And at midnight, everybody kis— uh, you know, celebrates. Together,” she said, reddening slightly. “It’s a tradition. Everybody is going to be there, so will you please just show up?”

“Why is this so important to you, Swan?” asked Hook.

Emma sighed.

“Do you want the truth?” she said.

“Always.”

“Fine. The thing is, Neal is going to be there. And I know my mother is going to try and push us together, because that’s what she does. And I’m just — I can’t handle that tonight.” Emma sighed again. “But she likes you, too, and David respects you, and if you’re there…”

“Then they won’t push you so hard,” said Hook.

“Exactly. It won’t be a total drag, there’ll be booze — it should be a good party.” She looked at him pleadingly. “So… will you be there?”

“If you wish it, Swan,” he said.

 _Is that the only reason you want me to attend?_ he thought to himself.

“Thank you,” she said, squeezed his arm, and almost skipped down the gangplank back to the shore, blonde curls bouncing behind her.

Hook was left standing alone with the feeling of her fingerprints still pulsing on his elbow.

Emma had only become more confusing as of late. He thought he knew where they stood when they’d returned from Neverland, was sure he hadn’t dreamed up the connection they’d formed while searching for her son. But although she hadn’t chosen Baelfire, and was clearly fed up with people urging her to rekindle their romance, she also hadn’t made a move towards Hook.

At least, not that he could tell. The flirtatious banter had continued — had grown, if anything, although he was careful not to take things too far, backing off out of respect for Henry's father — but the pirate was beginning to feel that he was missing some of the subtleties of romance in this new land. Did Emma really just want him at this New Year’s celebration to serve as a buffer against her former lover? Or was there an undercurrent to her words that he didn’t fully grasp?

 

***

 

The party was in full swing and the clock showed nearly eleven by the time Hook convinced himself to leave the _Jolly Roger_ and join the celebration. Someone had decorated a garishly sparkling ball that was hanging from a scaffold outside of Granny’s, and warm drinks were flowing freely.

“Hook!” cried David, “You made it!” Beaming, the prince slung his arm tipsily around the pirate’s shoulder.

“Aye, mate. Couldn’t refuse the lady,” replied Hook. “Is Emma alright?”

“Well, mate, between you and me, she’s been a little moody,” said David, tapping his nose with a somewhat wavering finger. “Something has been weighing on her mind lately, and I think that something’s name is Neal Cassidy and Killian Jones.”

“Really, now?” said Hook, intrigued. “Any indication of which way the wind is blowing?”

“You didn’t hear it from me,” the prince said, leaning in conspiratorially, “but if I had to hazard a guess—”

“—It would be that Emma is going to make up her own mind in her own time,” said Mary Margaret firmly, appearing at her husband’s elbow. “Hello, Hook,” she smiled. “So glad you could make it.”

“I’ve never been one to pass up a party,” he replied. “Although I confess to some bewilderment as to why this land is so sentimental about the changing of the year.”

“It’s more than just another day on the calendar. It’s about new beginnings,” said the queen.

“Yes, so Emma was saying.”

“Fresh starts,” added David in a significant tone of voice. “It’s a good time to try something _new_.”

“And I think you should try sitting down for a minute. Help yourself to the refreshments, Hook,” said Mary Margaret over her shoulder as she removed her husband’s arm and guided him toward a nearby bench.

 _Interesting_ … Hook mused. The prince seemed to be leaning in his direction, as far as Emma was concerned. Perhaps the tide was beginning to turn.

He made his way over to a long table laden with food and drink. Taking a cup of punch, he sniffed it dubiously and was about to add a little something from his flask when a familiar voice interrupted him.

“It’s already spiked, man,” said Neal. “It has alcohol in it.”

Hook took a cautious sip, shrugged, and poured in a bit of rum anyway. Neal chuckled.

“Same old pirate,” he said. “Rum makes everything better.”

“Truer words,” said Hook, raising the styrofoam cup in a toast.

“So, what brings you into town tonight?” asked Neal casually.

“Emma asked me to come,” Hook replied, a hint of a challenge in his voice. “I’m trying out some new traditions.”

“What, you think if you’re standing next to her at midnight she’ll just lay one on you? Pick you?” said Neal.

“Lay one on me?” repeated Hook in confusion.

“Yeah, you know, kiss you. That’s what happens on New Year’s Eve,” said Neal in response to Hook’s puzzled look. “People kiss each other when the clock counts down to midnight. You… didn’t know about that?”

“I was unaware,” said Hook. “Well now. That certainly does cast our conversation in a different light.”

“Come on, what happened to backing off?”

“I think the time for that has passed,” said the pirate, coming to a decision. “You had your chance, friend. Now it’s my turn, and I intend to put up a good fight. But I want you to understand, Baelfire—"

" _Neal_."

"Neal," said Hook seriously. "I'm not doing this out of any malice or, or vendetta. I want you to know that. I truly care for Emma, in a way that I thought I wouldn’t care for anyone again. And I just — I want the chance to see where that can lead. And I want her to have the chance."

The two men looked at each other for a long moment. Finally, Neal nodded.

"Alright, that's fair," he said.

"What?"

"You're right, man. I messed up with Emma. And even an idiot could tell she has feelings for you, and you deserve a shot at making her happy."

"And you're… okay with that?" asked Hook.

"Of course not," said Neal. "But I will be. Look, I know I’ve been an asshole in the past, but I mean it when I say I want the best for Emma. And if you’re the guy, not me — well, I’ll learn to live with it. So, you know.” He waved his hands in a shooing motion. “Go get her.”

“I don’t know what to say. I was expecting…”

“You could try ‘thank you,’” said Neal, one side of his mouth lifting in a smile.

“Neal… thank you,” said Hook sincerely, extending his hand.

“You’re welcome,” said Neal, taking it. “Don’t screw it up.” His face was serious again, but his grip was firm, and Hook felt a flash of understanding pass between them as they shook hands.

 

***

 

It was close to midnight and snow had started to fall before Hook found Emma amidst the crowd of growingly tipsy celebrants. He hoped he wasn’t imagining the way her eyes lit up a little when she caught sight of him, or the involuntary step she took towards him.

“Hey, you made it!” she said with a smile. She was cupping a mug in her mittened hands, and he couldn’t tell if the pink in her cheeks was just from the cold, or from something else as well.

“As ordered,” he replied, shifting from foot to foot.

“Come on, ordered?” she said. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“Fun?” Hook repeated.

“Yeah,” said Emma, raising her eyebrows. “Someone promised me fun.”

And all at once, something clicked in Hook’s head. She had _wanted_ him to pursue her, he realized; wanted him to make his intentions and desires known. No wonder she had been confusing lately — when he’d backed off, she had probably been confused herself, wondering why his interest had apparently waned.

“Could we speak for a moment?” he said. “Away from all these people?”

“It’s almost midnight,” she said, checking her watch. “I don’t want to miss the countdown…”

“It won’t take long, I promise.”

“Fine.” She set her mug down on a nearby table and followed him around the corner of the diner to a quieter spot.

He took a deep breath.

“Swan. Emma. I’m afraid you may have gotten the wrong impression from my recent actions,” he began, but was interrupted by a bitter-sounding laugh.

“Oh, let me guess,” she said. “You just want to be friends.”

“What? No! Swan, I—”

“Whatever, Hook. You know, for a minute I thought you might be different. I thought you might, I don’t know, feel differently. But you’re just like every other guy — you’re more interested in playing games than in who’s playing them.”

She turned to leave, and he grabbed her arm to stop her.

“Let go of me,” she said, her voice chilly.

“Please listen,” he said, releasing her arm. “Please. I took a step back out of respect for Baelfire, to give him the chance at a family that he deserved—”

“I don’t want to be with Neal!” she cried out in frustration. “God, would everybody just stop—”

“—but I have thought about you every day since we met,” he continued. “Every bloody day. Everything I told you in Neverland was true, Swan, and there is so much more that I couldn’t say aloud. And if I’ve led you to believe that I don’t care… that I don’t want you… then that’s the biggest mistake I’ve made in hundreds of years.”

Emma’s eyes widened as she stared at him.

“Are you serious right now?” she demanded breathlessly.

“Absolutely serious.” He took a step toward her. As if from a great distance, he could hear the crowd cheer as they began to count.

_Ten… Nine…_

“I don’t know how you feel about me,” he said quickly. “But I have to make it clear: I am _yours_ , Swan. Body and soul.”

_Eight…_

“If you’ll have me,” he finished, a catch in his voice.

_Seven… Six…_

“Hook, I…” she said. “I thought you were pulling away because — it felt like you didn’t care—”

_Five…_

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said.

_Four…_

She took a step forward and suddenly they were within a breath of each other. Hook could see the snowflakes clinging to her hair. Her eyes were glistening, whether with starlight or tears, he couldn’t tell.

“I… care about you, too,” she said. “I…”

_Three… Two…_

“Oh, hellfire,” he said roughly, and reached for her.

_One…_

Their lips met as the noise of the crowd crescendoed. Hook buried his good hand in Emma’s hair as he felt her hands come up to cradle the back of his neck and run delicately along the edge of his jaw.

Her mouth opened beneath his and he could taste chocolate on her tongue as it coyly touched his. One of her hands settled on his collar, pulling him closer as she pressed herself toward him. Hook tried to swallow the groan that escaped his throat at the feel of her body against his, her shape intoxicating even through the padding of her winter coat.

He angled his head _just right_ and he was lost, lost in the heat of her mouth, the smell of perfume lingering on her scarf, the way her teeth scraped at him as she sucked his bottom lip between her own. He tightened his mangled arm around her back and never, never had he wished to be whole more than at that moment, so he could have run a thumbnail down her spine and felt her shiver beneath his touch.

He could have sworn he saw fireworks.

Actually, he realized, jerking his head back in surprise, he _did_ see fireworks. Out over the harbor, colored lights of gold and red were illuminating the sky over the snowy town. Emma followed his gaze and laughed.

“There are fireworks going off all over the world tonight,” she said, nuzzling into the open vee of his leather coat. “It’s another tradition here.”

“Like the kissing?”

“Yeah, like the kissing.” She laughed again.

“Which you neglected to inform me of,” he muttered into her hair.

“Well…” she said, ducking her head. “I didn’t know what to expect. I mean, here I was, I honestly thought you weren’t interested any more, and I was too chicken to just ask you about it…”

“Gods, Emma,” he said, gathering her up in his arms. “I was a fool. To think, I could have been kissing you ages ago.”

“What were we thinking?” she said with a smile.

“And — just to be clear,” he said, dropping kisses like snowflakes along her hairline and down her jaw, “this is not just a ‘one-time thing,’ yes? I will get to do this again?”

“Oh, yeah,” she replied, turning her face towards him. “In fact,” she whispered against his lips, “I can pretty much guarantee that you can do that whenever you want.”

“It’s a deal,” he said, and lowered his mouth a fraction of an inch to reach hers, and kissed her like the world was beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> Crossposting from my [writing blog](http://twoo-wuv.tumblr.com). Thanks for reading!


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